Aggressive innovation, extraordinary customer focus, valued employees and teamwork comprise the vision of the Bayer Corporation plastics manufacturing team in Baytown, TX; inspired by their leader and Vice President, Dr. Lora L. Rand. Employees recognize Rand for her commitment to the business and her willingness to take risks. Even so, Rand says you can’t take yourself or the work too seriously. Her best advice is to enjoy what you do and make a point of taking time off to rejuvenate.
Rand is currently responsible for 210 employees, who manufacture polycarbonate; one of the highest profit margin products for Bayer Corporation these days. She earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Emory University in 1984, studied chemical engineering for two years and finished with a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Texas in 1990. Later that year, she began her career with Bayer Corporation as a Senior Process Chemist for polycarbonate. Rand’s career path led through quality assurance, laboratory work and manufacturing; both in Texas and overseas in Germany. Not long after she assumed her current position, Bayer Corporation and Bayer AG initiated massive cost-cutting and re-organizational efforts. Thus as part of the site senior leadership team, Rand has also played a key role in shaping the future of the Baytown site, which consists of approximately 1000 Bayer employees, plus several hundred contractors, and is one of the largest Bayer Corporation facilities.
When asked to define success, Rand said, “It’s not about money or position. For me it’s about feeling satisfied. Only if you allow money or position to count towards success do you have to compromise”. Integrity, flexibility, consistent hard work, and good networking are some of the factors that Rand believes attributed to her own success. She also places great importance on communication. You must be able to communicate what you want and where you hope to go, in order to get there. "Lora has been very successful in her current role as a member of the senior leadership team because she is able to communicate a clear vision of expectations. She empowers her teams to focus on the achievement of results, not performance of activities. Lora also ensures that people who deliver are recognized for their contributions. Those are signs of a good leader" says John M. Rocco, Vice President and General Site Manager, for Bayer Corporation.
According to Rand, the ability to communicate with all types of people and within all levels of an organization is critical. Her personal philosophy is to look to everyone around her as mentors. Not only has she had several formal and informal mentors along the way, but she learns a lot from her colleagues and subordinates day to day.
One thing Rand has learned over the years is patience, while she says the work climate has become more flexible and slightly more tolerant toward women advancing. However another change for everyone is that the workplace is becoming more and more fast paced. With cell phones and e-mail, you just can’t get away from the office. Rand says, “Don’t over commit at work and try to work as many hours as possible. Not only is it not effective but it puts undue pressure on your employees to do the same. This is not a good management technique”. When Rand isn’t submersed in the global strategy of manufacturing plastic, she can be found sailing into the Gulf of Mexico on her boat, “Totally Mellow”.
Rand’s final advice to others is “know when to laugh at yourself”. She explains that if you don’t take yourself too seriously, you will be able and willing to take more risks. Taking risks is necessary for building your own self-confidence and for challenging the process for your employees.
The WCC would like to thank Dr. Lora Rand for sharing her insights. She will also be a guest speaker in the WCC symposium entitled Corporate America's Contributions to Science: Successful Women in Chemistry at the ACS meeting in New Orleans next March. Please join us there.
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